AP English LiteratureElements of Poetry Boot Camp

Now that you have completed the short story boot camp and analyzed our summer reading novels, we will move on to an intensive 6 week review of poetry. As we’ve discussed, question 1 on the essay portion of AP exam generally deals with prose and question 2 generally deals with poetry analysis. Poetry often intimidates students moreso thanprose, simply because poetry can be so symbolic. If you miss the symbolism, you can lose the author’s intent altogether. Of course, in the real world, we may not care what the author’s intent is - - we expect to get out of poetry whatever we wish - but before you can have the luxury of YOUR convictions, you must know enough to understand the author’s convictions. This boot camp is designed to help you beyond any lack of confidence you may feel and allow you to dissect and analyze poetry with authority. It is extremely important that you read all assignments, including the assignments about writing.

Week 1
Poetry Overview - 661-672
“Hope” (Mueller) p. 661
“Schoolsville” (Collines) p. 663
“Here a Pretty Baby” (Herrick) p. 664

“Because I Could Not Stop” (Dickenson) p. 671
“Stopping By The Woods” (Frost) p. 673
“The Man He Killed” (Hardy) p. 673
“I Heard A Fly Buzz” (Dickenson) p. 1071

Week 2
Character and Setting in Poetry 686-693
“Western Wind” p. 687
“Bonny George” p. 688
“Drink to Me” (Johnson) p. 690

“London” (Blake) p. 693
“My Last Duchess” (Browning) p. 695
“Elegy Written In...” (Gray) p. 698

“The Ruined Maid” (Hardy) p. 702
“Channel Firing” (Hardy) p. 703
“Childhood” (Stanton) p. 710
“A Blessing” (Wright) p. 711

Writing About Character and Setting p. 712 - 717

Mad 40 On character and/or setting in poetry

Week 3
Diction and Syntax in Poetry 719-728
“The Naked and the Nude” (Graves) p. 726
“The Lamb” (Blake) p. 728
“Jabberwocky” (Carroll) p. 730

“Holy Sonnet 14” (Donne) p. 731
“Of Being” (Levertov) p. 736
“Naming of Parts” (Reed) p. 736
“Richard Cory” (Robinson) p. 737

“Dolor” (Roethke) p. 738
“I Think Continually of Those...” (Spendar) p. 739
“Eating Poetry” (Strand) p. 740

Writing About Diction and Syntax in Poetry p.741-

Week 4
Imagery p. 746-754
“Anthem for a Doomed Youth” (Owen) p. 750
“The Fish” (Bishop) p. 751
“Tyger” (Blake) p. 754

“I Know I’m Not....Obscure” (Durem) p. 758
“Preludes” (Eliot) p. 759
“The Pulley” (Herbert) p. 761
“A Time Past” (Levertov) p. 768

“It’s Only Rock and Roll” (Wojahn) p. 768

Writing About Imagery p. 768-770

Mad 40 Diction, Syntax, and/or Imagery

Week 5
Figures of Speech p. 774-783

“Eyes That I Last Saw...” (Eliot) p. 786
“Harlem” (Hughes) p. 787
“Portrait of a Figure...” p. 789

“Conjoined” (Minty) p. 790
“Exit, Pursued By A Bear” p. 791
“Metaphors” (Plath) p. 793
“Looking At Each Other” (Rukeyser) p. 794

Writing About Figures of Speech p. 801-804

Week 6
Tone: Creation of Attitude p. 808-817
“The First Rate Wife” p. 808-809
“Dulce Et Decorum Est” p. 810

“The Workbox” (Hardy) p. 814
“Epigrams...” (Pope) p. 816
We Real Cool (Brooks)
Interview with Brooks on "We Real Cool"

“Homage To My Hips” (Clifton) p. 819
“she being Brand/~new” (cummings) p. 819
“Theme for English B” (Hughes) p. 822
“The Planned Child” (Olds) p. 824

Outside Reading/Formal Essay
Select a favorite poet, read a collection of his/her work;
create thesis and write formal essay discussing at least
three of poet’s works.

Diction and Syntax Vocabulary:
Naked
Nude
lexicographer
Hippocratic
Gorgon
dishabille
rhetoric
vale
usurp
viceroy
fain
betroth
enthrall
ravish
provisional
ineluctable
Japonica
inexorable
dolor
orison
pallor
pall
venerable
peony
isinglass
effervescent
plaintive
arabesque
flak jacket



Read Sharon Olds' poem "Sex without Love" and then review the following student essay. Be prepared to talk about the analysis in class on Friday.

Analyzing student essay re "She Being Brand/New"